Randl / libqalculate

Qalculate! library and CLI

libqalculate

Qalculate! library and CLI

Qalculate! is a multi-purpose cross-platform desktop calculator. It is simple to use but provides power and versatility normally reserved for complicated math packages, as well as useful tools for everyday needs (such as currency conversion and percent calculation). Features include a large library of customizable functions, unit calculations and conversion, symbolic calculations (including integrals and equations), arbitrary precision, uncertainty propagation, interval arithmetic, plotting, and a user-friendly interface (GTK+ and CLI).

Installation

In a terminal window in the top source code directory run

• ./autogen.sh (not required if using a release source tarball, only if using the git version)
• ./configure
• make
• make install (as root) If libqalculate is installed in /usr/local (default) you may need to add /usr/local/lib to the library path of the system (add /usr/local/lib to a file under /etc/ld.so.conf.d/ and run ldconfig).

Requirements

• GMP and MPFR
• libxml2
• libcurl, icu, gettext (recommended)
• iconv, readline (recommended for CLI)
• Gnuplot (optional)
• doxygen (for compilation of git version)

API Documentation

The API documentation is included in the package and is installed in $docdir/libqalculate/html (usually /usr/share/doc/libqalculate/html). It is generated when running autogen.sh.

It is also available online at http://qalculate.github.io/reference/index.html.

Using the CLI program 'qalc'

To calculate a single expression from the command line (non-interactive mode) enter qalc mathematical expression (e.g. qalc 5+2)

qalc --help shows information about command line options in non-interactive mode.

If you run qalc without any mathematical expression the program will start in interactive mode, where you can enter multiple expressions with history and completion, manipulate the result and change settings. Type help in interactive mode for more information.

Other Applications

The main user interface for libqalculate is qalculate-gtk (https://github.com/Qalculate/qalculate-gtk).

Other software using libqalculate include

• KDE Plasma Workspace (https://www.kde.org/workspaces/plasmadesktop/)
• Cantor (http://kde.org/applications/education/cantor/)
• Step (http://kde.org/applications/education/step/)
• Qalculate widget for KDE Plasma (https://store.kde.org/p/1155946/)

Features

• Calculation and parsing:
  • Basic operations and operators: + - * / ^ E () && || ! < > >= <= != ~ & | << >>
  • Fault-tolerant parsing of strings: log 5 / 2 .5 (3) + (2( 3 +5 = ln(5) / (2.5 * 3) + 2 * (3 + 5)
  • Expressions may contain any combination of numbers, functions, units, variables, vectors and matrices, and dates
  • Supports complex and infinite numbers
  • Propagation of uncertainty
  • Interval arithmetic (for determination of the number of significant digits or direct calculation with intervals of numbers)
  • Supports all number bases from 2 to 36, time format and roman numerals
  • Ability to disable functions, variables, units or unknown variables for less confusion: ex. when you do not want (a+b)^2 to mean (are+barn)^2 but ("a"+"b")^2
  • Controllable implicit multiplication
  • Matrices and vectors, and related operations (determinants etc.)
  • Verbose error messages
  • Arbitrary precision
  • RPN mode
• Result display:
  • Supports all number bases from 2 to 36, plus sexagesimal numbers, time format and roman numerals
  • Many customization options: precision, max/min decimals, multiplication sign, etc.
  • Exact or approximate
  • Fractions: 4 / 6 * 2 = 1.333... = 4/3 = 1 + 1/3
• Symbolic calculation:
  • Ex. (x + y)^2 = x^2 + 2xy + y^2; 4 "apples" + 3 "oranges"
  • Factorization and simplification
  • Differentiation and integration
  • Can solve most equations and inequalities
  • Customizable assumptions give different results (ex. ln(2x) = ln(2) + ln(x) if x is assumed positive)
• Functions:
  • All the usual functions: sine, log, etc... : ln 5 = 1.609; sqrt(tan(20) - 5) = sqrt(-2.76283905578)
  • Lots of statistical, financial, geometrical, and more functions (approx. 200)
  • If..then..else function, optional arguments and more features for flexible function creation
  • Can easily be created, edit and saved to a standard XML file
• Units:
  • Supports all SI units and prefixes (including binary), as well as imperial and other unit systems
  • Automatic conversion: ft + yd + m = 2.2192 m
  • Implicit conversion: 5m/s to mi/h = 11.18 miles/hour
  • Smart conversion: can automatically convert 5 kg*m/s^2 to 5 newton
  • Currency conversion with retrieval of daily exchange rates
  • Different name forms: abbreviation, singular, plural (m, meter, meters)
  • Can easily be created, edit and saved to a standard XML file
• Variables and constants:
  • Basic constants: pi, e
  • Lots of physical constants and elements
  • CSV file import and export
  • Can easily be created, edit and saved to a standard XML file
  • Flexible, can contain simple numbers, units or whole expressions
  • Data sets with objects and associated properties in database-like structure
• Plotting:
  • Uses Gnuplot
  • Can plot functions or data (matrices and vectors)
  • Ability to save plot to PNG image, postscript, etc.
  • Several customization options
• and more...